


Comes and Goes, Like Waves

by Loki_ate_my_pudding



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Minor Character Death, Pirate Ashton, Pirate Luke, Pirate Michael, Possible Character Death, Runaway Calum, mentions of child abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-13
Updated: 2019-01-21
Packaged: 2019-10-09 12:55:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17407307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Loki_ate_my_pudding/pseuds/Loki_ate_my_pudding
Summary: Calum runs away from a life of slavery after being sold to a royal family by his parents for more money, and finds himself on Captain Michael’s boat. Just because he was a Pirate doesn’t mean he’s a bad man, right?Or, the adventures & borderline sad fic Of Pirate!Michael and Runaway!Calum , with Ashton being cute and Luke a hardass on the side.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I had an idea for a WHOLE book and I’m excited.

Calum was 19 when he felt like everything he had lived his life for, every dream and aspiration was a waste of time. He was 19 when he locked his bedroom door behind him every time his parents were home, purely in fear that there would be a repeat of some of the worst days in his life. 

He felt life he was a waste himself. All he did was hideaway in his home, eat small amounts of food that his parents wouldn’t notice he ate while they were away at work, practically slaving away for the great amounts of money they came home with. Calum became too used to their harsh words when they were around him, that he didn’t even notice when they were being more mean than usual. 

It was late late September when they came home with a sheet of paper, sliding it across the table to Calum at dinner. The wind had blown outside their house, the air getting colder and colder as the days went on. He’d looked down at it and nearly gagged. “Wh-what?” 

“Calum, you understand why we have to do this.” His mother said. She was always nicer than his father. Calum shook his head, standing hastily from the table. 

“No! You did this to Mali when she turned 19, you can’t do this to me, too!” He shook his head, filled with fear that they would send him away for this. 

David stood up too, staring down his son for a few seconds, just long enough to make Calum feel the anxiety he got around his dad. He sat back down, David slowly doing it too. 

“I’m sorry, Calum..” 

“No you’re not. You never were. You just let dad hit me, and stayed silent, and now you’re going to let him sell me! You two never cared.” Calum cried, fear rising in him at the thought of being taken away to be a Slave. “You’re doing this for more money, when you already have too much to handle.” 

Joy shook her head furiously, looking outraged at Calum’s accusations. “Calum! You know that is not true!” 

“And you know it is!” Calum shouted, and any possibility of him getting out of this situation were gone. He felt tears fill his eyes, avoiding the look his father was giving him. He stared them down, and shook his head. “I’m not going.” 

“The fuck you aren’t,” David growled, and Calum realized that was finally it. He stood, taking two steps towards Calum before the boy grabbed a cup off the table and threw it at him. 

Calum realized, once he’d done it, that he shouldn’t have even thought of fighting back against David. He was taller than him, stronger, much more heartless. Calum could cry stepping on the foot of a street pup and his dad could throw him down a flight of stairs and laugh. Calum would know. It’d happened before. 

The teen considered all his options of escaping once he’d thrown it, trapped on one end of the table, while David stood on the other. He could keep throwing things at him? It’d just piss him off even more. Calum could run, but he’d lose the last few things he had left. He’d been packing. He had a bag Incase he really needed to leave, but he couldn’t escape to his room and then out the door now, not after throwing the glass at his dad. 

So with Calum’s last real ounce of motivation to escape, knowing his freedom was in his hands now, he gripped the handle of the pan Joy used to cook dinner, and held it high. He took steps towards his dad, ready to hit him and run. Joy watched with wide eyes, not doing anything to stop it from happening as Calum swung, and whacked David in the dead with the pan. He stumbled, stepping to the side as Calum pushed past him, sprinting up the stairs and slamming his room door behind him. 

David recovered a few seconds later, quickly running after his son and swinging open the door. He lunged at Calum, who had started to open the window. “You’re not going anywhere!” David shouted, but Calum has managed to open the window and get himself out, falling down two stories to the grass beneath the window. He landed weirdly, a strange bend of his leg underneath him, but he still managed to get himself up and run. 

He wondered if it was adrenaline that fueled his running, even thought the burning pain in his leg increased with every step he took. Calum stopped only to tighten the straps on the napsack he’d brought with him, and he continued running again, towards the docks that he knew would be filled with boats that he could hide on. There were endless places he could end up by getting on one of them. 

He also wondered if David was following him, desperate for the money he could’ve gotten from selling his only son to the king and Queen. It didn’t matter anymore, because his first step on the wooden boards on the docks made him practically taste the freedom. 

Calum snuck onto the closest boat, which was more like a ship, that seemed big enough to fit at least twenty people on just the deck. He hid behind some of the barrels on it, settling himself into a comfortable position as he waited for the crew to come back to the ship, and leave. 

Hed lost track of how long he’d been there, but once the sun was just about to begin setting, he heard a practical army of footsteps stomping towards the boat. “We gotta go! Let’s go! Now!” 

He bit his lip, fearful that whoever it was would find him and kick him into the docks before they could leave. Calum has been stuck inside his whole life. He’d never once left his house to do anything that wasn’t school, he had no clue what to do. Maybe they’d be kind and let him stay. 

“On, now, come on, they’re coming! They’re lookin’ for some runaway kid, and if they find us here, we’re going to jail!” Someone shouted, and calum felt the vibrations of footsteps on the deck of the boat. He tensed, filling with impossibly more fear at the idea of being on a ship now with people wanted by the police. 

The ship managed to start and take off faster than Calum knew was possible, and the crew cheered almost silently when they saw a small group of royal guards. Calum knew then, that he was who they were looking for. 

He let out a small breath of relief, but the silence on the ship instantly formed the anxiety again, pooling in his stomach. And everything was fine for a few seconds, until he felt someone grip him by his fluffy brown hair, and yank him out of his hiding spot. 


	2. Chapter 2

“Who the fuck is this!” 

“What the fuck is he doing here!” 

“Why is he here!” 

Calum stared wide eyed at the crew, a group of some menacing looking men, with a mix of a few that looked more like him. He had no idea who gripped his hair, but the pain became more and more intense, reminding him of how David gripped it before he delivered a strong punch to his face. 

“We need to bring him to the captain.” One with curly, honey blonde hair spoke. Calum felt more fear rise in him, almost like the levels he already had in him kept being over lapped. 

“No, we can’t bother him! He'd lose his shit, Ash. Don’t be stupid.” One grumbled, tall and broad. Calum worries on his lower lip. 

“Fine then, if we’re not bothering him, we’re sending the scum off. He can’t stay. Not allowed, Captain’s rules.” The one holding him said. The curly blonde shook his head, a frown settling on his face. 

“You can’t just- you can’t just send him off! We’re already out in the ocean, there’s no land nearby!” He cried, looking worried. 

“Look, I get that you're new, but this is how we do things. If there’s an intruder on the ship, we send them off, Ashton.” Calum heard the man holding his hair say, and he gagged at the thought. 

Nothing was said for a few moments, but they were moving around and Calum felt nothing but fear, because out of all the things Calum knew he could do, swimming was not one of them. 

“L-look, I’m sorry, p-please let me explain myself! I-i can’t swim!” He cried once he felt them shove him onto the classic wooden plank he’d heard of. He whimpered, shaking as the cold air blew against his bare skin, the cold from the ocean making him bite his lip. “P-please-“ 

The men only watched him, though the honey blonde, Ash, he assumed, watched with fearful eyes. Calum sucked in a breath, but he realized that this was it. There was no getting out of this now, and his few moments of freedom were sacrificed, as well as his life, but at least he didn’t die at the hands of David, which he was always scared of. 

He swallowed thickly, and thought about finally letting go, until Ashton turned away and ran. “I can’t watch this!” He shouted. The second Calum hit the freezing water, Ashton barged into the captain’s quarters, under the deck. 

“Captain, I’m so sorry, but Luke just forced some kid to jump off the ship and he can’t swim, and he was covered in these bruises and-“ 

“What do you want me to do about it, Ashton? That’s what we do.” He grumbled, sitting up in his bed. 

“Help him! He’s gonna die! He hasn’t done anything wrong, he can’t swim, and he looked horrified!” Ashton cried, eyes welling up with tears. “Please!” 

He stood, pushing Ashton aside and walking up to the deck. The sound of splashing, and screams filled his ears. “What did you do, Luke?” 

“He broke onto the ship, so I did what we always do.” Luke responded. 

“And he said he couldn’t swim? And he’s covered in bruises? God, Luke, we’re pirates. Doesn’t mean some of us don’t have morals.” He grumbled, pulling off his shirt. “Now you’ve wasted my time, and I have to rescue the kid, becaus eyou couldn’t wait until morning to talk to me about the decision.” 

He dove into the water, swimming towards the now motionless kid. He gripped his wrist, pulling him out of the water and grabbing the lifesaver Ashton had thrown, waiting for the crew to pull them up onto the deck. 

Ashton and Luke pulled the rope, hoisting the two wet boys back onto the ship and watching in surprise as their captain made quick work of taking the kid’s wet clothes off, and performing CPR. “Come the fuck on, kid, don’t die because Luke was being a dumbass.” He mumbled to himself, continuing the chest compressions until the thin kid coughed up the water in his lungs. 

He sat back, watching as the kid coughed and gagged. “Well, Luke, congratulations. You didn’t kill someone tonight.” He grumbled. “What’s your name, kid?” 

He looked up at the captain, worried looking eyes and heaving chest. “C-Calum Hood.” 

“Wait- you’re the one the royal guards were looking for!” Ashton said, staring at the kid’s bruised body. 

“Why are they looking for you?” Luke asked him, looking pissed off. 

“Just shut up. The kid just almost died. Give him time. C’mon, I’ll take you into the cabins so you don’t freeze to death.” The captain said, gripping Calum’s wrist and helping him up. He limped after the older boy, wincing in pain at nearly every step as they went down the stairs, and Calum almost instantly felt warmer. 

“You can sleep in there for tonight. It’s my cabin, but it’s the only one with really good heating, and I figured you need some sort of apology after my crew tried to kill you. I’m captain Michael, and here’s some clothes so you don’t die.” The man said, shutting the door behind him. 

Calum wondered if he’d rather had died. 

-

The next morning, Calum woke up to the sound of muffled voices, and they weren’t the ones of his parents arguing. He sat up in the bed, already feeling significantly less like death than the night before. He winced at the memories. “And I’m confused too, Luke. I’ll talk to him when he wakes up, and we’ll decide what to do from there.” 

Calum recognized the voice of the captain, Michael. Michael, who saved him from actual death, and have him a place to sleep, and new clothes. A pirate, who’d shown him more kindness than his parents had ever. 

He heard footsteps walking away, and figured the coast was clear, but the door swung open and Michael’s head popped into the room and the smile on his face made Calum feel even more warm than he was under those blankets. 

“You’re up.” He said, coming into the room fully. He sat on a chair by the bed, handing Calum a small packet of crackers. “Here’s something to eat. It’s small, but we still need to talk about a few things before I can fully let you be part of the crew or anything like that.” 

Calum nodded, greatfully opening the packet and downing half the crackers hastily. “Hungry, huh? What’s got you so hungry?” 

“I haven’t been eating very much.” Calum replied honestly. He had a personal belief that being closed off about his past would never allow him to fully get over it, so anyone that asked, would know. 

“So we’ll start off easy. You’re name’s Calum? Calum what? How old are you? Give me a basic intro.” Michael said, leaning back in the chair and watching him. 

“Well, I’m Calum Hood, I’m from New Zealand, but my family moved here when my parents got offered a good job with the royal family. I’m 19.” He said softly. Michael nodded slightly. 

“So you’re not a kid anymore, huh?” He asked, eyebrow raised at Calum’s answer. 

“Nope. I guess I turned out small though. My dad was very tall and strong, as I kid I always wanted to be like him, but I obviously didn’t end up that way.” He shrugged a bit, biting into another cracker. 

“So why’d you run?” Michael asked, and Calum felt his throat close up when he went to answer him. He looked down, wondering how much Michael’s opinion on him would change once he knew. Michael reached forward a bit, putting his hand on Calum’s knee. “Does it have to do with the bruises you’ve got?” 

He only nodded, wishing Michael had more easy questions before he lunged in for the kill with the last one. 

“My parents- they weren’t very nice.” He choked out. “More my dad.”

”You don’t need to say any more about them, Kid.” Michael cut him off quickly, sensing how uncomfortable Calum had become. “But why were the guards looking for you?” 

“Well, when my parents came home, they gave me a paper that I was going to live with the royal family from that point on, I, uh, well, they sold me to them. As a slave. I ran so I wouldn’t live the rest of my life doing labor and being beat for it.” Calum answered him, watching as Michael’s face contorted into one of sympathy. He was a fucking Pirate for heaven’s sake, he wasn’t meant to be so nice. 

“Well, Calum, come with me.” Michael said, standing and holding his hand out for the smaller teen. Calum took it, getting onto his shaking legs and followed Michael out of the cabin, and up the stairs. 

The ship looked different in the morning light, the crew looked more at ease, the waves seemed much less raging. “Attention!” Michael shouted, and Calum clinched a little. The crew gathered around the two of them, watching with skeptical eyes. 

“Welcome our newest member to the Crew. This is Calum. Calum, this is Luke, Ashton, Ben, Jack, and Andy.” Michael clapped a hand on Calum’s back, pointing to each respective crew member. “Don’t be dicks.” 

And with that, Michael slipped away, back down under the deck and into his cabin. 

Ashton smiled, showing off deep dimples and reached his hand out for Calum. “Welcome to the crew, Cal! It’s not too bad once Luke starts to like you, I promise.” He said, and Calum smiled weakly. 

He wished he could agree. 


	3. Chapter 3

Calum’s first real day as part of the crew was manageable. He’d pictured all the work to be hell, and all the crew to be rude, but it was actually the opposite. 

Most he had to do was carry a few things around, probably because they’d loaded the ship with new supplies after their stop at Calum’s town. Other than that, the day was actually relaxing, and he couldn’t have pictured a better way to spend his time. Definitely not hiding away in his room. Calum loved the feeling. 

The rest of the crew, aside from Ashton and Andy, seemed to have a permanent scowl etched into their features. It wasn’t something Calum found distinctly disturbing or anything, he just noticed things other people wouldn’t. He always blamed in on his upbringing, his sister had always told him to pay more attention to their face than their words, because people show what they really mean in their eyes. 

So he noticed how angry Luke always looked, and how similar Ben and Jack did. 

“Are they always so angry?” He’d asked Ashton quietly, his voice hushed as they sat on the deck together, watching the waves while the boat sailed on. Ashton shrugged. 

“Sometimes. Luke is moody, I think he’s just pissed he’s wrong. I’ve only been on the ship for about three weeks so I don’t know them too well, but Jack and Ben are Luke’s older brothers. They’re a lot more chill, probably just worried about the newcomer.” Ashton shrugged, biting into an apple. Calum nodded a bit in understanding. 

“Don’t let them get to you, though. Captain wouldn’t have let you stay if he didn’t like you.”  

“They don’t, I was just curious. I’m used to people not looking the happiest, Ashton. It kinda surprises me how happy you are, actually. Maybe it’s just because my town was full of dull people and nothing to bring them joy.” Calum said softly. Ashton giggled slightly. 

“It’s different out here. It seems like it’ll be boring, ya know? Just on a boat for weeks until you dock again, for like a day or so, then back on the ocean, but it’s great. It’s a new taste of freedom, it never gets old. With the kind of captain we’ve got? Always fun. He’s a great man.” Ashton said with a smile. “Michael is very kind, for the most part.” 

Calum only nodded in response, hoping Ashton was right. “He yell?” 

“I’ve never witnessed it. Probably when he’sreal mad.” Ashton said, smiling at Calum. “You don’t like yelling, do you?” 

Calum shook his head no, happy Ashton didn’t press the situation to know why. “I never really left my house at home. It’s so new out here.” 

“I was the same.” Ashton smiled. “I was always working. Then my siblings and mom moved, and I was kinda sick of spending my whole life doing nothing but work and work. So I left when they did, and I ran into Michael at a bar back in Sydney. Here I am now.” 

“I ran away from a life as a slave.” Calum shrugged, continuing to stare at the water. He wondered if Ashton looked at him after he said that, but all he really worried about was the fact that he was finally away from a life of abuse. “And I’m free now.” 

Ashton smiled. “That you are, Calum, that you are.” 

And it felt okay for once. 


	4. Chapter 4

“Wake up, Calum! Today, we face feat number one, my small friend!” Michael cheered, opening the door to Calum’s small cabin. 

He sat up in his bed, rubbing his eyes tiredly with the back of his hand. Yawning, he made a small “huh” noise in the back of his throat.

”We’re teaching you how to swim today.” The captain said, flipping the light switch in the cabin. “Damn. It’s kinda cold in here. Might need to get the heating fixed before November rolls around, huh? Anyway, up!” 

Calum didn’t dare make a sound of disagreement as he sat up, running a hand through his bed hair as if that would pat down the unruly curls. He shivered, unconsciously agreeing with Michael’s statement about the lack of heat in the cabin. The thin blanket slid off his shoulders, the black tee he was wearing drooping low on his chest. “Immediately? What do I wear?” 

“Hmm, nothing.” Michael shrugged. “It’ll just make it harder. Obviously keep your boxers on, but the more clothes you wear, you’ll get dragged down when they’re wet.” 

Calum nodded, shyly watching as Michael continued to stand there. “Do you want me to leave?” He asked. Cal just nodded. “I’ve seen you shirtless before. Remember? I did have to take your wet clothes off when you almost died.” 

Calum laughed slightly, hoping to god that it was meant to be a joke. “Still. It’s weird, I’m not used to being around other people in the first place, let alone in front of them without clothes on.” 

“Well, good thing we’re going to be in the water then, huh? I won’t be able to see much, the water’s dark. But on the bright side, it’s warm as fuck out today! We won’t freeze. I’ll meet you out there. Five minutes, Cal.” Michael tapped his wrist and left, smiling at the smaller teen. Calum nodded, watching as Michael left before he slid his shirt off. 

He pushed himself out of the bed, ignoring the anxiety he felt pooling in his stomach at the idea of swimming when he nearly died a little over two weeks ago. The crew had assured him many times to calm down, that the water wasn’t too bad, and if Michael was the one teaching him, he’d never let Calum drown. 

It wasn’t like Calum didn’t believe them, because Michael had given him plenty of reasons to trust him by then, but he still felt anxious about getting in the seemingly never ending water, unable to see the bottom. He still slipped out of his cabin, going up the stairs and spotting Michael sitting with Luke and Ashton at the edge of the deck, watching the waves below them. 

Calum walked up to them, his arms crossed over himself nervously as Michael turned and smiled at him. “You ready, Cal?” 

“H-how do we just get in?” He asked, a shake in his voice as he peered over the edge of the ship. 

“I’m gonna put a life jacket on you so you float, and then maybe a little later I’ll take it off you. We’re gonna have two ropes off the side of the boat, and in about half an hour, Ash and Luke are gonna pull us up for a break, and we’ll do it again until you can at least float.” Michael explained kindly, and Calum nodded, still insanely nervous to get in to the water below. Last time, it was all too cold on his skin, all to wet, dragging him down. 

But he still let Michael clip a bright orange life jacket around him, taking place where his shirt would’ve. He watched Michael jump right off the boat after, into the waving, dark water below. He looked up, wiping his wet hair from his face and smiling wide  

“Just jump, Cal! You’ll be okay!” He called up, Calum slowly appearing at the edge of the boat. He peered nervously at the water, his toes tipped off the ship and his hands shaking nervously before he let himself fall off the edge. 

He squeezed his eyes shut and held his breath as the cold water splashed against his skin. It was shockingly freezing, making him gasp when his head came up from under the water.

 He felt panic set in for a moment, remembering the way the water covered him when he’d almost drowned a while back. The way he’d struggled in the water with fear filling him, and he almost started to struggle again before he felt a hand on his shoulder. “Hey, hey, Calum? Calm down. You’re okay, you’re floating see? Not going under. Don’t worry.” 

And Michael was right, because he was floating, bobbing up and down with the waves and feeling droplets of water slide down his face from his hair. “I-it’s cold.” He whispered, trying to take his mind off the memory. Michael laughed softly in his ear, a sound Calum could get used to. 

“It is, isn’t it? Ready to start learning, Cal Pal?” He grinned, and Calum nodded a bit, ignoring the nippy water and the anxiety. He listened to Michael as the older boy showed him simple techniques to repeat, and Calum did as he was told. 

They stayed in the water for about half an hour before Michael had brought them to the ropes to get back on the ship, tired from the constant treading he’d been showing Calum even though he’d done it his whole life. 

“See, it’s not too bad!” Michael smiled, and handed Calum an apple. “We'll stay out for a few hours so you can get your strength back, next time we’re going in without the jacket. I’m confident you know what you’re doing.” 

Calum only nodded and bit down on his apple. 


	5. Chapter 5

The second time they went into the water, the sun was pre-setting and the waves were calmer than before. This time, Calum felt nothing but anxiety. No excitement and comfort like before. 

“I know this time it’s going to seem scarier, but remember, I’m gonna be down there with you the whole time, and Ash and Luke are on the deck and can hear if we need help, okay? Don’t worry, and don’t freak out down there.” Michael assured him as he walked with Calum to the edge of the boat once again. 

This time, they jumped at the same time, almost like kids would when one was too worried about the cold water they’d be submerged in. 

Calum, despite Michael’s assurances, did in fact freak out when he realized it wasn’t so easy to keep himself above the water as it was before. “Cal! Hey, remember, move your arms in circles!” Michael shouted over his thoughts, and Calum tried his hardest to listen, but everything became increasingly harder. He moved like he was meant to, kicking his feet a bit and struggling to keep himself chin-up free from the salty water he kept accidentally swallowing and gagging around. 

He coughed, feeling it go down the wrong pipe in his throat, struggling harder now that he’d choked on the nasty ocean water. “Mich-ael!” He coughed and choked, the anxiety rolling in fast and making everything seem harder. “Help!” 

And the captain did, a hand coming up and helping him by pushing his shoulder back a bit. Calum let Michael do whatever, coughing around the last bit of water in his mouth as Michae put him on his back in the water, keeping himself afloat by kicking his feet around under him. “You’re okay, Calum, calm down. Breathe, okay? I know it’s hard with the water in your mouth but I can’t exactly give you CPR and you need to stay floating.” Michael assured, carefully holding Calum above the water with one hand, the other now treading. 

It took Calum a few minutes to calm down, and he felt drained and horrible by the time he did. “I’m sorry.” 

“It’s okay. Let’s try to tread now, alright?” Michael asked, moving his hand away from Calum’s back. Cain nodded a little, getting himself off his back and upright in the water. He managed to do it this time, maybe after the initial shock of the cold water. “See? You’re doing it!” 

Calum smiled and continued, doing what Michael told him to do until they decided to go back onto the ship. 

The sun had set by the time they were on deck, and all previous warmth was absolutely gone. The two boys shivered, Michael wrapping a towel around Calum and leading him down into the cabin space again. “We have a habit of getting wet and cold, don’t we? Anyway, it’s still cold in your cabin, so you can stay in here again tonight.” 

 Calum only nodded in response, following Michael down the hall. He shivered, his bare skin covered in goose nips. “It’s cold.” He mumbled.

“That it is, Calum.” Michael chuckled. “You’re not much of a talker, are you?”

He shrugged a bit, instantly relaxing in the warmth once they reached Michael’s cabin. “Just a little uneasy still.” He answered honestly after a few moments. “‘S only been two weeks, yeah? I’m used to talking to my parents and myself.”

 “I understand, Cal. Hopefully you’ll open up soon, though. We’re on tack to being on land in about a week so I can get the cabin’s heat working again, and you might want to have a fun time with the crew on land rather than not.” Michael smiled at him, pulling on a shirt and tossing one to Calum. “It’s all about communication on the seas, my friend. I know the crew seems a little mean sometimes, but they’ve got good intentions at heart. I swear.”

”Just different.” Calum said, looking at Michael. “It’s a huge change. From getting hit everyday to being free for the first time in nineteen years. It’s a lot.” 

“Yeah, it is. But I promise you right now, you’ll get used to it, and it’s gonna be better than anything.” Michael said with a smile. “It’ll be better than any single thing you can imagine. And I’ll be here every step of the way.” 

Calum smiled at that. Michael was good. 


End file.
